Blood Angel
by AmberandAbsinthe
Summary: A girl is rescued in an alleyway by a strange man. Who is he and what are his motives? A better question might be- who is she? Not a Mary-Sue. Rated for attempted rape.
1. Trouble On The Streets Of Paris

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Summary: A girl is rescued in an alleyway by a strange man. Who is he and what are his motives? A better question might be- who is she? Diana is not a Mary-Sue, it's all going to be explained in the second chapter.

Diana Aphrodine ran quickly through the back alleys of Paris, trying her best to outrun her pursuers. She made a quick right turn and stopped suddenly as she was faced with the cold, unforgiving stone wall. Hearing the echoing of heavy boots she turned back to the wall ran to it, trying to reach the top but it was no use. The wall was just too high for her to reach.

At the sound of a gruff laugh Diana turned around. The two drunken thugs who were chasing her had slowed to a walk. One brandished a knife that gleamed in the dim moonlight and smirked at her, his eyes looking her up and down. The other man leaned on the building to his right to catch his breath. They both sported several fresh cuts that she had inflicted upon them when they first tried to get her. The blood that dripped from each wound gave her a small amount of satisfaction, but did little to help.

"You've caused us some trouble." The man with the knife growled as he advanced. Diana tried to focus her thoughts and forced her body into a fighting stance.

"Oh no you don't!" The other man began and before she could register it they were upon her, wrestling her to the ground. She hit the cobblestones hard and the wind was knocked from her lungs.

There was enough awareness left in Diana that she became aware of the fact that the man with the knife was above her, sitting on her arms while he used his knife to cut away her clothing. Finally he left that job to his buddy who started tearing at her simple tunic and pants. She could feel the cloth being torn away from her breasts and thighs and opened her mouth to scream only to stop as something cold pressed painfully into her throat.

"Go ahead- nobody will come. Nobody cares about a worthless peasant like you." The man spoke in a low voice, his breath smelling sour and rotten. Regardless of what he said Diana did call out. She called out for help even as she realized one man was taking his pants off and getting ready to mount her. Diana clenched her eyes shut and waited for the pain and violation… but the pain and violation never came.

"What the-" one of the men began. It was the one standing over her with his pants down. She opened her eyes and saw a large bat-shaped shadow pass through the alley.

"It's just a bat! Get on with it or I'll take my turn first!" The assailant holding her arms shouted. His friend chuckled nervously but got ready again.

"No!" Diana cried out. "Get away from me; leave me alone!!" She yelled and struggled. Her legs were free and she moved to kick the man but the knife pressed into her neck again, this time making her aware of the blood flow it had left in its wake last time.

"Don't even think about trying that…" The man warned. He pushed the dagger deep into her neck until blood flowed freely.

"Excuse me…" Spoke a smooth and thickly accented voice. The two assailants and Diana looked back at the entrance to the alleyway. There stood a man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, black gothic clothing that appeared to be from Eastern Europe and pale skin.

"Who in the hell are you? What do you want?" Shouted the man with the knife. Diana's eyes drifted in an out of focus on the man as the knife dug deeper into her throat still.

"What an… interesting choice of words. I am merely a stranger passing by; as for what I want…" His eyes never left the men but he gestured with his head towards Diana. "I'll settle for you leaving the girl alone at the moment."

"Who do you think you are?" The thug over Diana pulled his pants up and turned towards the stranger in anger.

"If you move… I'll slit your throat in an instant." Whispered the drunk that still held Diana. He moved the knife away from her neck and joined his friend. Diana pushed herself into a sitting position and leaned on the wall. She pressed one hand to her neck; trying in vane to stop the blood flow.

"I am Count Vladislaus Dragulia- but you may call me Dracula," the stranger bowed and answered the thug who spoke to him but his eyes cast briefly to Diana.

"Well we don't care what you are **_Count_**, nobody tells us what to do!" The attacker to the left, who held the knife threatened.

"Very well… then we shall do this the hard way." Dracula nodded. He didn't seem surprised as the Thugs began to advance on him and he refused to take a combat stance. As one of the men lunged at him with his knife Dracula stepped to the side, easily avoiding blade. He turned and lifted the man off the ground, tossing him over the wall with seeming no effort at all.

"What the-" The other drunk stopped in his tracks.

"What was it your friend was saying?" Dracula inquired. He quickly closed the distance between him and the man and slammed him against the wall. He repeated the slamming until the attack was dead. Finally the count released him and he slumped lifelessly to the floor. As if remembering something Dracula turned suddenly to Diana.

"What do you want?!" Diana gasped in fear as she backed up into the corner of the alley. She was curled up into herself, one hand still on her neck. The man approached her and knelt down. His eyes scanned her body quickly but came to rest on her face. Carefully he forced her hand away from the wound and his eyes seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

"Can you stand." Dracula finally spoke. He stood up and looked away temporarily.

"I-I think so…" Diana struggled to get her feet beneath her and leaned on the wall for support. There was a sudden intake of breath from her as she felt her whole world begin to grow dark. She tried to say something- to call out or to put her arms out and brake the fall but nothing seemed to work as she fell unconscious. The sound of her body hitting the ground brought Dracula's attention back to her.

"Damn it!" Dracula said under his breath. He quickly knelt down and lifted her up into his arms. Now what was he supposed to do? He looked up. It seemed his only option was to transform into the Hellbeast and fly her to his hotel room.

With a growl the Vampire Lord transformed himself into the hideous Hellbeast. In the arms of the bat creature rested the small form of the bleeding girl. It would have looked absurd had anyone witnessed the cautious way the Hellbeast rose into the sky and flew towards the Parisian Hotel that it was staying at while in town.

Authors Note: I know is looks bleak but I will repeat: no Diana is not a Mary Sue. So please don't start that with me. Everything will become clear in the next two chapters about why she was rescued and who she is. After that I promise you that things will get more interesting.


	2. It's In The Blood

As Dracula looked down at the sleeping form of the girl he had rescued earlier he cocked his head to one side. He had called for the wife of the inn owner and let her clean and bandage the girl's wounds. Even though the window was open and the cloths used to clean up the majority of this young woman's blood were being cleaned downstairs, the scent of her sweet blood hung around her like a cloud.

It was the scent that had attracted him to her situation in the first place. He had just finished his meal and was busy roaming the streets when that smell had faintly come into existence. It was distant but something in the blood was strong enough for him to pick up even though he was a fair distance away.

Intrigued by just what it was that had demanded his attention so, he took flight and located this girl in the middle of a very bad situation. The smell of her blood was stronger where he landed and he could was able to pick up a trace of something in it that was both familiar and new. Whatever it was he was certain that this young woman was something more than human- even if only a small amount of her was so. He had only been a vampire for a few years and the hope of finding someone else who perhaps shared immortality or at least some of his knowledge was strong enough to give him a reason to intervene.

Even now, whatever was in this girl's blood remained a mystery, but after seeing her reaction to how he dealt with her attackers he was certain that she was not particularly well informed about his kind. Pity. If she was of no use to him in that sense than he could always drain her dry. If good for nothings else than her blood would make an interesting meal.

The vampire sat in the shadows of the room, his eyes fixed on the bed and it's inhabitant as he watched her carefully. Hopefully she would wake up before dawn. He could survive the sunlight, though it did make him very uncomfortable, so traveling was no problem. During the day he would simply draw the curtains and sleep in the shadows of the room. If the girl woke up in the daylight hours there was a chance he would not be so kind to her.

**Authors Note: Thank you to all my reviewers! I'll take time to thank you all individually I promise, I'm just in a hurry today. I put this up to answer a few of your questions. I'm sorry it's so short but like I said- I'm short on time right now.**

**And to anyone who might be wondering because of the title of this- No Diana isn't an Angel. BloodAngel is refering to something that will happen later on. **

Happy New Years to everyone. Much love!

**-BriannaRabbit  
**


	3. Awaken

Authors Note: For anyone not familiar with this, when you see words in _italics_ it refers to someone's thoughts as apposed to what they're saying…

* * *

**Awaken**

To Dracula's delight, at about four in the morning, the girl began to stir. First her finger started to twitch, followed by a small groan and finally her eyes fluttered open. From where he sat in the shadows, he could see her and she could not yet see him. Knowing this, he observed the unusually long amount of time it took for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room they were in.

The girl looked confused as she cast her eyes around the inn, obviously not remembering the night's earlier incident yet. Finally, frustrated and a bit disoriented she tried to sit up in bed a little bit too fast. She let out a cry of pain and one hand flew to her neck instinctively. Upon discovering the bandage her eyes widened and she seemed to finally regain her memory. She settled herself against the back of the bed slowly, being careful not to aggravate her wound.

_Good- she at least has some common sense._

Curiously the girl examined her hand and seemed pleased to find that her bleeding had not resumed as a result of her sudden movement. Without warning her eyebrows seemed to furrow and she looked down at herself. She pulled the quilt of her bed away and examined the dressings of her wounds that wrapped her torso. At the realization that her clothes had been removed and replaced with a robe the girl blushed.

"I had the inn-keeper's wife clean and dress your injuries." Dracula spoke up from the corner her was sitting in. He watched in amusement as the girl seemed to jump a bit in surprise. She was looking at him with wide, frightened eyes; like a cornered deer might look at the wolf that was about to tear her to pieces.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" Girl wondered meekly. From the sound of her voice and the unbalanced way she moved it was obvious that effects of the blood loss were beginning to settle into her limbs.

"Is it a crime in Paris to help out a woman in distress?" Dracula countered as he cocked his head to one side.

"No… but why would you help me? I have done nothing for you and I have nothing to offer to someone who is obviously of a higher social standing than myself… I'd like to know why you would bother helping someone like me?" She seemed to be honestly curious. For someone who had lost so much of her life blood she had a lot to ask.

"Is it so hard to believe that I did that without expecting something in return?" He inquired. As they spoke he was trying to figure out what she knew… and if she didn't know anything what he should do with her.

"Yea," The girl laughed, wincing a bit in pain. "Either you're lying to me or you've been living in a cave your whole life." At the questioning look she received she continued. "When has someone ever helped another person without wanting something for it? A human does not risk their life for another human they don't know out of the goodness of their heart; it's not in their nature. The instinct for survival is so ingrained into everyone's mind that they will forsake their own humanity for it if given the chance." She smiled a bit sadly.

"How… do you know this?" Dracula forced calm into his voice as his eyes scanned over her, trying to sense if she knew his secret. Her words were far too close to what he had experienced; she might be a danger to him.

The girl, her red hair matted with blood still, seemed to snap out of a trance. She looked up at him as she ran his words through her mind once more. "Oh! I'm sorry," she chuckled a bit at her own absentmindedness. "It's a long story; someone I know… well let's just say that they made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Dracula urged, moving his chair forward a bit. He sat in the dim glow of the only candle now and remained, for the most part, in shadow.

"I don't want to talk about it!" The girl quipped angrily in response. She drew her arms around her and Dracula could have almost sworn he saw her eyes flash in anger. He felt a surge of fury sweep through his body at the thought that this pitiful human would dare to raise her voice against him, but it was quickly replace by some amount of respect for her courage.

"Do you live in Paris?" the vampire muttered, changing the subject almost reluctantly. He would get what he needed out of her eventually.

"…I suppose if you were to say I lived anywhere than it would be here." Came the flat reply. She was obviously glad they were off the previous subject but a hint of irritation at his prying questions remained.

"Very well…" Dracula sat back in his chair. She was growing cautious with him. "What is your name then?"

"My name is Diana Aphrodine," the girl replied, looking at him. "I suppose there's no harm in your knowing that much."

"That is a-"

"Where are you from… Dracula? I believe you said that is your name." Her tone of voice had become very business like and adopted a fake sort of cheerfulness. She wanted to even the score obviously.

_It seems I've misjudged the girl._ Dracula thought. _She might prove to be of some value to me later on. Provided I can keep her trusting me long enough to take advantage of that value…_

"That is my name," he nodded. "I am from Romania; I make my home in the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania." He answered her.

"Transylvania…" The girl looked a bit thoughtful. "I have heard of it. Supposedly it is a cursed land that is filled with Werewolves and Vampires and all sorts of ungodly creatures."

"Is that what you believe in?" Dracula smiled to himself as he settled back into his chair. Now they were getting somewhere.

"If you're asking me if I believe they exist… I have seen them. Regardless of whether or not you believe me I _have_ seen them myself." She muttered, seemingly off in a world of her own memories as she spoke.

"I believe you. I have seen them as well." Dracula assured. He was pleased; this was not a waste of his time, she did know some thing after all.

"Have you? And lived to tell the tale? You must be either very skilled or very lucky." The girl smirked at him.

"They are no bother to me; so long as they keep their distance." Dracula mused. "But what about you? How did you survive?"

"I? I was born a hunter." The girl snorted. "It's in my blood."

"What do you mean by that?" Dracula looked at her in interest. There was much he still did not know.

"Nothing- I just meant that I grew up with it. I've studied and hunted down many a monster that has gotten in my way."

"Really? How many?" Dracula hid a laugh at her pride.

"I've killed fourteen werewolves and nineteen witches… not to mention other, less dangerous creatures." Diana announced.

"And vampires?" Dracula prodded in interest.

"…One." Diana stated calmly.

"Only one?" Dracula's eyebrows raised.

"I don't much care for killing vampire's; so long as they aren't causing problems I have no need to interfere with them. As you said; They're no bother to me as long as they keep their distance." She seemed satisfied with that.

"And the one you did kill?"

"…Hurt me personally." Diana snapped furiously. Without another word she carefully got back under the covers and turned away from him. Obviously the conversation was over.

"Interesting…" Dracula mused to himself as he settled into the shadows again with his chair before the sun rose. This girl was still hiding something from him; he could smell it in her blood. He would find out what it was. Until then he was at least satisfied to know he had little risk of being killed by her; he had done nothing to harm her. If she were in better shape he might have been a bit more concerned with staying in the same room as a hunter but she was much too weak to be any threat to him as it was.

**Authors Note: Thanks all of you. I'm going on vacation for a few days so I'm not sure when I'll be back but once I am I plan on continuing this.**

Also; the reason Diana has killed so many witches and weres and the one vamp will become very clear in the next few chappies. It's not the beginning of some overly used "Monster Hunter" story line- it's actually tied in to the main point of this story. Yay me, lets hear it for creativity! I promise that once you understand more of her past this chapter will make sense; and once I explain more about what Dracula is doing in Paris then the reason he is actually trusting someone who claimed to have killed a vamp will also become clear.


End file.
